Online Fundraising for Booster Clubs: Platforms, Fees, and Rules

Types of Online Fundraising

What It Costs: Platform and Processing Fees

Online giving carries two layers of cost:

• The platform fee is what the fundraising service charges for its software.
• The processing fee is what it costs to run the card or bank transaction.

Published pricing reviewed for this page in October 2026 (vendors are not named here, and BoosterClub.org recommends none):

What that means on a single gift:

The fixed per-transaction charge weighs most on small gifts. A platform fee stacks on top: at 3% plus 2.9% + $0.30, a $50 gift nets $46.75.

“Free” platforms funded by tips deserve a close look. The tip goes to the platform, not the club. Before choosing one, a board member should make a test gift and see exactly what a donor sees at checkout, including any default tip amount. Some services also let donors cover the fees so the club receives the full gift.

Rates change. The treasurer confirms current pricing, payout timing, refund and chargeback handling, and who owns the donor list before the board approves a platform.

Fundraising software built for small nonprofits can issue receipts, track restricted gifts, and export to the books automatically.

Setting Up Accounts Correctly

1. Open every account in the club’s legal name with the club’s EIN (employer identification numberEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms).
2. Direct payouts only to the club’s bank account.
3. Give at least two officers administrator access, using a club email address rather than a personal one, and record the logins in the club’s records.
4. Never run club money through a personal crowdfunding page or a personal payment app. The money is commingled with personal funds, the records belong to an individual, and tax forms are issued in that individual’s name.
5. Turn on automatic receipts only after checking that their wording meets the acknowledgment rules, or send the club’s own.
6. Reconcile each payout monthly: gross amount, fees, refunds, and net deposit.
7. Remove administrator access for departing officers at transition.

See Booster Club Banking and Accepting Online Payments as a Booster Club.

Peer-to-Peer and Student Pages

Peer-to-peer fundraising (supporters creating their own pages that feed a club campaign) works well for booster clubs, with one firm limit. Every dollar goes to the club’s campaign for the program as a whole. A page may show a student’s photo and a progress bar, and the club may thank top fundraisers, but no amount raised on a page is credited to that student’s fees, trip, or account. A page titled “Help Maya get to nationals” for a club-run trip is an individual account in online form. See Fundraising Rules for Booster Clubs.

A family’s personal crowdfunding page for its own child’s costs is a private matter, not a club fundraiser. Gifts to it are not deductible as charitable contributions (IRS Publication 526 (external site)), and the club should not let it use the club’s name or logo or promote it as club fundraising.

Student privacy rules apply online. Use only photos and names the district’s media release allows, and never publish a student’s contact information.

State Charitable Registration

About 40 states require charities to register before soliciting donations from their residents. Exemptions and revenue thresholds vary by state, and many small booster clubs fall under an exemption in their home state. The club’s own state comes first; see the state pages and State Registration for a New Booster Club.

Online campaigns raise the question of other states. The Charleston Principles, advisory guidelines issued by the National Association of State Charity Officials in 2001, are the framework most states follow. Connecticut, for example, says it has not adopted them by statute but abides by them (Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (external site)). In summary:

• A charity registers in its home state if it solicits there, online or not.
• A charity registers in another state if it specifically targets donors in that state, or receives contributions from that state on a repeated and ongoing or substantial basis through its website.
• A charity also registers where its offline activities alone would require it.
• A website with a donate button, by itself, generally does not trigger registration in other states.

Crowdfunding and giving days can trigger registration requirements in multiple states, because supporters forward links to relatives elsewhere. A club that emails an appeal to an out-of-state alumni list, or runs paid social media ads in other states, should check the rules in those states first.

Form 1099-K and Payment Records

Third party settlement organizations, which include many payment apps and online marketplaces, file Form 1099-K only when payments to a payee exceed $20,000 and the number of transactions exceeds 200. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill retroactively restored that threshold (IRS news release IR-2025-107, October 23, 2025 (external site)).

A Form 1099-KForm 1099-KThe IRS information return a card processor, payment app, or online marketplace files to report the gross payments it processed for an account during the calendar year. Card payments and payment apps have different reporting thresholds.All terms does not create tax for a 501(c)(3) club, but the treasurer should be able to tie its total to the books. When club money runs through a parent’s personal account, the form goes to that parent, which is one more reason the club never does it.

Acknowledgments and Disclosures

Online receipts must meet the same rules as paper ones. IRS Publication 1771 (external site) allows acknowledgments by email. Gifts of $250 or more need a written acknowledgment, and online ticket or auction purchases over $75 that include a gift need a disclosure of the deductible amount. See Donation Receipts and Acknowledgment Letters.